Pick up a well-worn piece of Maryland colonial paper money and you are holding something that predates the United States by decades. The ink, the hand-press impressions, the crude but deliberate artwork, and even the anti-counterfeiting leaf prints pressed into the paper itself tell a story of a colonial society trying to solve a timeless problem: how do you run an economy when hard money keeps draining away to London? Maryland’s answer, enacted through a series of Currency Acts stretching from 1733 to 1774, produced some of the most historically significant and collectible paper money ever issued on American soil.
Why Maryland Needed Paper Money
Maryland in the early eighteenth century operated primarily on a tobacco economy. Planters stored their crop in public warehouses and received tobacco receipts, which circulated as a crude form of currency. The problem was structural: Britain’s mercantilist policies ensured that specie, meaning gold and silver coin, flowed eastward across the Atlantic far faster than it arrived. By the 1720s, Maryland merchants were conducting business with a patchwork of Spanish pieces of eight, worn Portuguese moedas, and whatever barter goods could be agreed upon. The situation was unsustainable.
Virginia had already experimented with paper money, and Pennsylvania’s 1723 loan-office bills had proven moderately successful. Maryland’s General Assembly, watching neighboring colonies navigate the specie shortage, began drafting its own solution. The result was the Currency Act of 1733, which authorized the emission of 90,000 pounds in bills of credit, backed by real estate mortgages through a loan office system. Crucially, Maryland’s notes were made legal tender for all debts within the colony, giving them genuine transactional weight.
The 1733 Act: Maryland’s Paper Money Debut
The 1733 emission produced notes in denominations of 4 pence, 6 pence, 9 pence, 1 shilling 3 pence, 1 shilling 6 pence, 5 shillings, 10 shillings, and 20 shillings. These were printed by William Parks, the colony’s official printer, working from Annapolis. Parks used a common press of the era but incorporated one genuinely innovative security feature: nature printing, where actual leaves were inked and pressed directly onto the paper, leaving a vein-pattern impression that no counterfeiter could exactly replicate. This same technique would later be famously refined by Benjamin Franklin for Pennsylvania and New Jersey notes.
The obverse of most 1733 issues carried the royal arms of Great Britain alongside the Latin legend affirming the note’s legal tender status. The reverse displayed the distinctive leaf print. Signatures of two or more commissioners appeared on each note, hand-signed in manuscript ink, making every surviving example a unique artifact. Newman catalogs the 1733 Maryland issues under MD-1 through MD-14, depending on denomination and variety.
When examining Maryland colonial notes, always check the leaf impression on the reverse under good raking light or a 5x loupe. The clarity and completeness of the leaf print is a significant grading factor. Notes where the leaf veining is sharp and complete command 20 to 40 percent premiums over examples where the impression is faint or partially struck.
Subsequent Acts: 1748, 1753, and the Expanding Currency System
The 1733 emission was not the end of Maryland’s paper money story. Demand for circulating currency consistently outpaced supply, and the General Assembly authorized new emissions as earlier notes were retired through loan repayments. The 1748 Act authorized an additional 40,000 pounds, with notes bearing updated date references and refreshed commissioner signatures. The 1748 series (Newman MD-15 through MD-24) introduced slightly cleaner typography and, on some denominations, engraved vignettes replacing the simpler woodcut ornaments of the 1733 issues.
By the time of the 1753 Act, Maryland had refined its printing operation considerably. Notes from this emission are generally crisper and better struck than earlier issues, which paradoxically makes them slightly more common in collectible grades today since they survived handling better. The 1753 issues authorized another 40,000 pounds and retained the denomination range of the earlier acts, though the fractional denominations were eventually de-emphasized as the economy matured.
The 1767 Act represents a watershed in Maryland colonial currency. Authorized during a period of significant pre-Revolutionary tension, these notes carried more elaborate engraved borders and featured a redesigned royal arms that reflected contemporary British heraldic fashion. Some numismatists consider the 1767 Maryland issues the most aesthetically accomplished of any colonial American paper money, a claim that invites spirited debate at any major coin show.
The Newman catalog number is the universal language for colonial currency collectors. Always reference the Newman number when buying or selling Maryland colonial notes, and verify it against the 5th edition published in 2008. Earlier editions contain some attribution errors for Maryland that were corrected in the final version. If a dealer cannot provide or confirm a Newman number, proceed cautiously.
The 1774 Act: The Final Colonial Emission
Maryland’s last colonial currency emission under the Currency Act of 1774 carries enormous historical weight. Printed just two years before the Declaration of Independence, these notes still displayed loyalty to the British Crown even as colonial tensions approached the breaking point. The 1774 issues authorized 533,333 dollars in bills (Maryland had by this time shifted to dollar denomination language to align with Continental practice), covering denominations from one-third of a dollar up to eight dollars.
The 1774 Maryland notes are particularly prized by Revolutionary War-era collectors because they represent the direct fiscal predecessor to Maryland’s Continental and state currency issues of 1775 and beyond. Some of the same commissioners who signed the 1774 colonial notes would go on to sign the first Revolutionary-era Maryland emissions, creating a fascinating continuity of personnel across a political revolution. Newman lists the 1774 series as MD-81 through MD-92.
Grading Colonial Currency: Different Rules Apply
New collectors often approach colonial notes with Federal Reserve Note grading assumptions, and this creates problems. A colonial note in what appears to be VF-20 condition by modern standards may actually grade Fine-15 or even VF-25 under PCGS or PMG colonial grading conventions, because the starting point for evaluation differs. Colonial notes were printed on handmade rag paper with uneven surfaces, were sometimes issued with pre-existing folds from handling at the emission window, and frequently show the effects of genuine eighteenth-century circulation rather than collector abuse.
PMG and PCGS Currency both encapsulate Maryland colonial notes and their grades are widely accepted in the market. For Maryland colonials specifically, PMG-graded examples at Fine-12 or better are considered very collectible, and anything at Very Fine-25 or above is genuinely scarce for the earlier 1733 and 1748 issues. Uncirculated Maryland colonial notes are extreme rarities at any denomination; perhaps a dozen or fewer legitimate AU-55 or better examples of 1733 notes are known across all denominations.
Do not confuse Maryland colonial currency with Maryland Continental currency issued by the state government during the Revolutionary War (1775 to 1781). While both are collectible and historically related, they are distinct series with different authorizing legislation, different Newman catalog ranges, and quite different market values. The colonial issues (pre-1775) generally command higher prices in comparable grades due to greater age and historical significance.
The Counterfeiting Problem and the Law
Maryland’s legislators were acutely aware of counterfeiting risks and the Currency Acts included severe penalties. The 1733 Act mandated that convicted counterfeiters face cropping of the ears, branding on the forehead with the letter C, hard labor, and in repeat cases, death. These penalties were prominently printed on the notes themselves, a practice common across colonial emissions, serving as both legal notice and psychological deterrent. The text “To Counterfeit is Death” appears on many Maryland notes in various formulations.
Despite these deterrents, counterfeiting occurred. Several documented cases from the 1740s and 1750s involved well-organized rings operating across Maryland and Virginia. The General Assembly’s response was to introduce increasingly sophisticated engraving in each successive Currency Act, which is one reason the 1767 and 1774 issues are more elaborately designed than the 1733 originals.
Building a Maryland Colonial Currency Collection
A focused collection of Maryland colonial paper money can be assembled across several different themes. Type collectors typically aim for one example from each major Currency Act emission (1733, 1748, 1753, 1767, 1774), representing the full arc of Maryland’s colonial monetary history. Denomination specialists might chase every distinct denomination authorized across all acts. The most ambitious collectors attempt complete date-and-denomination sets, which requires substantial patience and budget given the rarity of certain issues.
Entry-level collectors should not be discouraged. Maryland colonial notes from the 1767 and 1774 acts in Good-4 to Fine-12 condition frequently appear at major currency shows and through established auction houses including Heritage Auctions, Stack’s Bowers, and Spink, with prices beginning around $75 to $150 for the more common denominations. The 1733 issues in any condition typically start at $300 to $500 and rise steeply with grade.
| Act / Series | Denomination / Newman No. | Est. Known Examples | Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1733 Act | 4 Pence (MD-1) | Fewer than 20 | Key Date |
| 1733 Act | 20 Shillings (MD-14) | 25 to 40 known | Rare |
| 1748 Act | 10 Shillings (MD-22) | 40 to 60 known | Rare |
| 1753 Act | 5 Shillings (MD-35) | 60 to 90 known | Scarce |
| 1753 Act | 1 Shilling (MD-30) | 80 to 120 known | Scarce |
| 1767 Act | 8 Dollars (MD-62) | 100 to 150 known | Scarce |
| 1767 Act | One-Third Dollar (MD-51) | 150 to 200 known | Scarce |
| 1774 Act | 4 Dollars (MD-87) | 200 to 300 known | Scarce |
| 1774 Act | One-Third Dollar (MD-81) | 300 to 450 known | Common |
Authentication and the Forgery Question
Modern forgeries of Maryland colonial currency are a genuine concern, particularly for the more valuable 1733 and 1748 issues. The most problematic are nineteenth-century facsimiles produced for historical curiosity, which sometimes surface without clear identification as reproductions. Authentic Maryland colonial notes were printed on handmade cotton-linen rag paper that shows distinct chain-line and laid-line patterns when held to transmitted light. Modern reproduction papers do not replicate these patterns accurately.
Additionally, genuine colonial inks have oxidized and aged in characteristic ways over 250-plus years. The ink on authentic notes typically shows slight fading, and the handwritten commissioner signatures exhibit age-appropriate foxing and ink spread. UV light examination is useful because genuine period paper and inks fluoresce differently than modern materials. When spending serious money on Maryland colonial notes, third-party grading by PMG or PCGS Currency is essentially mandatory.
Heritage Auctions publishes fully searchable archives of past colonial currency sales, including realized prices and high-resolution images. Before purchasing any Maryland colonial note, search Heritage’s archives for comparable examples sold in the past five years. This research takes fifteen minutes and can save you from significantly overpaying or, equally important, from missing a bargain by not recognizing fair market value.
Conclusion: Why Maryland Colonial Currency Deserves More Attention
Maryland’s colonial currency acts represent a remarkably coherent chapter in American monetary history, spanning more than four decades of increasingly sophisticated paper money policy. From the tentative leaf-printed bills of 1733 to the elaborately engraved notes of 1774, these emissions chronicle not just an economic system but a society evolving toward revolution. For collectors, they offer genuine rarity, historical tangibility, and a depth of variety that rewards serious research.
The field remains less crowded than colonial notes from Massachusetts or Pennsylvania, which means patient collectors can still find exceptional examples at reasonable prices relative to historical significance. Whether you are assembling your first type set of American paper money or expanding a specialized colonial collection, Maryland’s pre-Revolutionary bills deserve a prominent place in your numismatic priorities. These are not just old pieces of paper. They are the direct ancestors of every dollar ever printed in the United States.
